


Dead Kings and Living Gods

by warriorwisteria



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Ancient Egypt, Assassin's Creed: Origins, Atem is handsome but awkward, Atem is the Son of King, Historical Inaccuracy, If I can make it slow that is, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Original Character(s), Possible spoilers for AC: Origins, Slow Burn, Yugi is an Assassin, Yugi is cute but deadly, but I'm trying my best, the crossover no one asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 14:20:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13615164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/warriorwisteria/pseuds/warriorwisteria
Summary: He looked tiny and frail, even with the light-brown cloak bulking him up a bit, his face completely hidden not only by looking down but also by a brown scarf, wrapped around his head. A shield against the rays of the Aten and the sands of the desert, that were able to cut into skin like glass when the wind was rising.Atem reckoned that the boy, because he was no man yet, that was for sure, probably stood even smaller than himself. Maybe a handy asset when sneaking around, but in fights…? The boy was supposedly a Medjai after all. A protector. One look at him had Atem wanting to protect the boy, though.





	Dead Kings and Living Gods

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are looking for a historically accurate fan fiction set in Ancient Egypt, that isn’t one of them. Even though I highly enjoy those, I'll have to take (probably a lot) of liberations to make my story work. Please bear with me. Also English isn’t my first language so I apologize for any mistakes you may find. 
> 
> Probably not a lot of card games going on here. Trying to substitute with Senet.
> 
> Inspired by Assassin’s Creed Origins. Title of the fan fiction taken from the soundtrack.

The Aten stood at its highest point in the sky when his father had called Atem to the throne room to welcome their new Medjai. Atem had arrived before the man, only a few nobles and the priests occupying the room. The latter including his cousin Seto and his good friend Mahad, which meant Mana probably wasn't far and hiding _somewhere_ surely not wanting to miss out on this exciting event. Atem took a seat next to his father just as the grand, heavy doors leading into the room were opened and a person entered the great hall, their steps resonating against the pillars and walls decorated in rich adornments. A few of the nobles started to whisper and like a wave the whispering seemed to follow the figure as it made its way through the hall right in front of Atem and his father where it kneeled down. The supposedly new Medjai looked tiny and frail, even with the light-brown cloak bulking him up a bit, his face completely hidden not only by looking down but also by a brown scarf, wrapped around his head. A shield against the rays of the Aten and the sands of the desert, that were able to cut into skin like glass when the wind was rising.  
Atem reckoned that the boy, because he was no man yet, that was for sure, probably stood even smaller than himself. Maybe a handy asset when sneaking around, but in fights…? The boy was supposedly a Medjai after all. A protector. One look at him had Atem wanting to protect the boy, though.  
Medjai were, especially the one hired to protect the Pharaoh and his family, the protectors of Egypt and therefor they were the law and took care of smaller matters which were not important enough for the Pharaoh himself to waste his time with it. Next to protecting the King and his family they helped to keep the peace in Egypt and acted as a link between the ruler and his people. It was a high and quite prestigious position which meant that some rules didn't apply to them once they were accepted by the Pharaoh. They had their own set of rules, too, and of course the Pharaoh always stood above them, but they were close to the ruler's family, part of it almost, so that they were allowed to look at them, be among them and speak freely. Medjai even advised the King sometimes. Atem remembered Harwa, their former Medjai, fondly, who had been able to make the most ridiculous backflips and jumps and had cheered Atem and his friends up more often than once. Even though he had been offered a place to stay at the palace he had preferred to leave for his hometown, somewhere in the south. He wondered how this Medjai would turn out to be. Maybe he was even Atem’s age?  
Their former Medjai had been more impressive, that was for sure. Taller, broader, capable of protecting the Pharaoh, his family and his people. He had been able to snap an arm between his hands… or so he had always bragged at least. He had retired a few weeks ago, leaving to find a new Medjai, a new protector for them in his place. Atem wondered if the man had gone mad since he had send them the boy. He glanced at his father, trying to read anything in his face, but Aknamkanon was unreadable as often when he sat in the public eye. Something Atem strived to reach one day as well and, as some people claimed, he became more and more good at. Right now it was not an easy task to control his facial features, though. He was curious why Harwa had decided on this tiny person and not someone who looked already impressive and capable.

“You are the new Medjai Harwa decided upon?” Atem fancied he was able to pinpoint a certain doubt in his father’s voice. The boy, who was kneeling in front of them, didn’t seem to be bothered by it, if he heard it as well.  
“Yes.” His voice was soft and kind, but there was something underneath that spoke of a certain self-confidence and strength. Self-confidence was something Atem quite liked in people, but that didn’t mean that the boy would be capable of being their Medjai. After all enough people were confident in their capability of doing something and ended up being punished by the gods when it had been nothing but overconfidence.  
“Who taught you?” His father was definitely doubting the ability of their new Medjai as well, Atem was sure now. The boy in front of them didn’t seem to take any offense from it. It was hard to tell, though, since he hadn’t looked up once after kneeling down, just as the etiquette asked him to, even though he was a Medjai. But he hadn't been accepted by Atem's father yet. _Do not look at the Pharaoh directly._  
“Sugoroku of Do-min’o, King.” Do-min’o was, as far as Atem could remember the rather boring lessons in geography, a tiny place in the western desert, quiet and not very important. He doubted that anyone had heard of this Sugoroku, even though his father nodded, as if knowing exactly who the boy’s teacher was. And maybe he did. His father was wise and knew the land he ruled well, its people and what to do. Atem wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to step into footsteps that grand.  
“Please, stand before us as you will be our Medjai and therefor are allowed to look your Pharaoh in the eye.” Surprised, Atem blinked at his father, not expecting him to accept their new Medjai so easily. Had the name of the boy’s teacher rang a bell after all? Maybe Mahad knew. Atem would ask him later. Now he finally wanted to see who their new Medjai was and if Harwa had lost his mind in the end.

When the person stood, still covered in layers of cloak, scarf and clothing, Atem was pretty sure the boy was probably the same height as himself, but a bit leaner in comparison. Removing the scarf around his head, he revealed his youthful and surprisingly fair face, sparkling, round violet eyes no doubt the most alluring feature. For a short moment Atem had almost thought he was a girl, the skin of the boy surprisingly fair, a trait most women tried to achieve.  
“Can you fight?” Atem only realized half a second later that he had actually asked that out loud. He didn’t dare to look at his father, stared at the tiles on the floor instead when the new Medjai laughed, high and almost giddy, a sound Atem liked immediately and made him look up. Really, their new Medjai was _weird_ and everything but impressive. But he was interesting. Something new in Atem's rather dull life here. It was always the same lately. Waking up, studying languages or geography, mathematics or politics. Training in combat and etiquette. Here and there a hunt. But never striving too far from the palace of course.  
“Would you like to test my skills, Son of King?”, the Medjai asked, mirth still sparkling in his eyes and causing Atem’s heart to palpitate rather strongly once, twice, until he nodded quickly and shot his father a glance. Aknamkanon made a gesture with his hand that more or less said ‘go ahead’ and so Atem did. He was fairly confident in his ability to fight. Not only had he learned everything he knew from an early age on, but he was also exceedingly good at it. His teachers had told him so at least and whenever he went out for a hunt he was able to impress everyone with his skill using the bow and arrow. He was also great with the sword, had trained combat so often it was his second nature. Even Harwa had complimented him on it and shown him a trick or two. Still, the nobles were watching and also Seto, who would remind Atem ever so often how he got his arse handed to himself by a tiny Medjai, if something like that was about to happen in the next few moments.

Their fight was cut short.  
They had circled each other for a moment, Atem trying to find the other’s weakness, in his stance maybe, until he attacked and the next thing he knew was him lying on his back on the floor like a Scarab - at least not wiggling helplessly with his legs in the air -, a blade against his neck and big, way too kind eyes for a killer close to his face. Atem only stared for a moment, slowly processing what must have happened in the last few seconds. Then he could feel the warm rush of blood tinting his face no doubt a shade of scarlet, even though - thanks to his complexion - only the Medjai and his father were probably close enough to see it. The boy was indeed a true Medjai, probably deadlier than the snake who had bitten Mahad a few years ago, Atem saving him only just by sucking the poison out of the wound. The Medjai's tiny frame and his young face had fooled Atem. He probably wasn't the first one who fell victim on the innocent looks of their new Medjai and he wondered briefly how much blood was on those light skinned, capable hands. He was probably a silent and quick killer, Atem mused.  
There was no scratch on his body, only his bum smarted and his pride was bruised. Especially when he heard suppressed giggles, the nobles no doubt highly amused about the show he had given them. He still accepted the hand the new Medjai offered him and got back up on his feet. No matter how proud he was, he could appreciate the skill of someone else. Especially someone who looked so harmless and had been highly underestimated by him and just proven him wrong. Even now after displaying his abilities, their new Medjai looked still like a little boy. Innocent and not very strong. Maybe it was all about a certain technique? The idea intrigued Atem. After all, the boy was about his height and even though he didn’t let it on, it often bothered Atem that the Gods hadn’t blessed him with a taller build. Maybe he could learn something from the Medjai. Now was not the right moment to ask him about it and he had to admit that he didn't want to let on too much how impressed he really was, but maybe later on... After he had nursed his pride back to its full health.

“Well, I guess you have passed the test. - What do you say, Atem?,” Aknamkanon spoke up, sounding quite amused and a bit impressed. He knew after all that his son was highly skilled at any kind of combat. No match to Harwa of course, but the man had looked every bit the strong Medjai he had represented.  
“If he’s half as good in Senet as in a fight I’m glad.” Their old Medjai had been the worst player Atem had ever encountered. Still, sometimes he had been the only one Atem had been able to seek out for a round of the board game. Maybe their new Medjai was open for a Senet-Duel from time to time as well and actually quite decent at it, too. No luck there, though, it seemed.  
“I’m alright at it.” The new Medjai shrugged, smiling. Well, there were probably other things a Medjai had to study than games… Atem wasn’t too disappointed, even though he had to admit that he hoped to become maybe friends with the boy. After all, they were roughly the same age. Sure, the boy would have his own duties just as Atem did, he was here for their safety after all and would protect the Pharaoh and his family at all costs. Atem had never really cared about the exact meaning of the position. All he knew was that a Medjai was sometimes send away to spy on or to kill people who could possibly be a threat. They devoted their lives to Egypt and to the Pharaoh, which meant that they weren’t allowed to build their own families. Harwa never seemed to have minded this rule, always saying the Egyptians were his family and he took care of them as a Medjai. Still to many others it didn’t seem to be that appealing since there were fewer and fewer Medjai, which meant that more people turned to the Pharaoh directly to judicalize. Small things were the Medjai’s job, though. Therefor the new Medjai would sometimes leave and take care of the people of Kemet.  
"Welcome the new Medjai!" After the words were spoken by the Pharaoh, the hall erupted in cheers. Atem chanced a quick glance at their new Medjai and noticed a slight red tint in his cheeks and across his nose. While Harwa had always enjoyed the attention of the court this Medjai looked more embarrassed than anything about it. The cheers died down quickly, though and the new Medjai was probably glad about it. “I take it that Harwa has already provided some information to you, but I still would like to talk to you in private.” Atem wondered if he was allowed to listen in as well, but it didn’t seem like it. He wondered what Aknamkanon would tell their new Medjai. How was Atem supposed to know how to instruct his own Medjai one day…? But looking at the boy, he’d probably be _his_ Medjai anyway when the day came that the rulership of Egypt would fall to his hands. Quickly he spoke a prayer in his mind, wishing his father a long, long life. It felt like bad luck thinking about himself as King since it meant… He didn’t finish the thought. “Atem, you may return to your studies,” his fathers voice intruded his thoughts and Atem noticed that he was, apart from his father and the Medjai, the only one left in the throne room.  
“Yes, father.” 

Wondering what the Medjai thought about him daydreaming away, he only spared the other boy a quick glance when he made his way out of the room… just to almost collide with Seto, who had waited for him on the other side of the doors. The smirk on his face was telling and Atem could almost pinpoint the exact words his cousin would choose to mock him about his great defeat.  
“I’ve told you you play too many games and do not train enough. Now even a little boy beats you with ease.” It was a friendly jab but Atem’s pride felt still a bit raw and wounded for it not to hit the mark. He hoped that this was one of the times his features gave nothing away. But fooling his cousin was hard. They were both proud and therefor knew each other's workings far too well. Often Atem appreciated this because it meant they didn't have to talk much and understood each other immediately. But in moments like this Atem dreaded Seto being able to read him as easily as one of his holy texts.  
“He’s the Medjai, he’s supposed to be able to kill someone within seconds,” Atem replied and knew it was a feeble excuse. It had been an embarrassingly short fight after all and he still didn’t know how the boy had actually made him fall down. He hadn’t felt a blow of any kind.  
“I hope your father made the right choice…” His cousin still seemed to have doubts about the new Medjai which kind of implied that he thought Atem was really bad at combat. Atem could feel his eye twitch at that and guessed he had a long way to go until he was able to wear an unbreakable mask just as his father did.  
“Do you doubt the choice of your King?,” Atem asked cooly, raising one eyebrow. Seto wasn’t able to reply to that, hence one of the priests calling for him. He shot Atem a glance the young Prince wasn’t able to decipher and then followed the call.  
“Ask a slave girl to bring you a pillow before you sit down anywhere today!,” Seto threw at Atem over his shoulder and the Son of King could hear the smirk in the other boys voice as clearly as if seeing it on his lips. He sniffed, more amused than anything else.  
“Just talking to you is exhausting!,” Atem exclaimed dramatically before deciding that it wouldn’t do him any harm to go to the yard and have a go on the dummies for combat. He felt weirdly insecure about his abilities and a bit of training would hopefully cement his self-confidence in his own fighting abilities again. Of course he was the Son of King, the next in line and therefor not a warrior and no match for a Medjai no less, but still. Losing against someone who looked so small and unassuming still didn't sit right with Atem. He needed practice.

xxx

One, two, three, one, two, three… Atem repeated the same moves for a while now, feeling the sweat drip down his face, missing his eyes only just.  
“I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”  
He flinched, spinning around in a reflex, his sword ready in his grasp to fight off any possible enemy. It irked him a bit that the Medjai didn’t even move a muscle as if Atem didn't pose any threat at all. But maybe it was just because Atem lowered his sword immediately, idly wondering if he would ever stop making himself look stupid in front of the other boy. It again spoke for his abilities, though, that Atem hadn't heard him come closer since the sand should have scrunched beneath his feet.  
“Wow, great reflexes,” the Medjai pushed on, smiling at him. Atem wished for some odd reason the boy wouldn’t have found him here, all sweaty and sticky from fighting against a dummy made of reed. Really, Atem would have preferred being found sitting elegantly somewhere, even on a pillow as Seto had suggested, eating grapes or doing other trivial things. He had no idea why, though. Only now he realized that he hadn’t given an answer to the other boy, who started to look a bit unsure about himself. _What’s wrong with me?!_ , Atem berated himself, while trying to find the right words.  
“It’s… fine, I mean I asked for it,” he finally was able to stumble out, trying to subtly dab some sweat off his face with the back of his hand. “I’m sorry for doubting you,” he added for good measure. The Medjai just shrugged, not looking offended at all. Atem noticed just now, that the boy must have left his scarf and cloak somewhere, probably in Harwa's old room, close-by the rooms of the royal family, which meant Atem's and his father's since there was no one else left. His mother had died the day he had been born and Atem had no siblings, his father never interested in taking another wife.  
“You aren’t the first one to doubt me,” the Medjai replied lightly. It made Atem feel kind of sorry for the boy. “But don’t worry, I’ll protect the Pharaoh and you against all evil.” The smile was sunny that accompanied the words and Atem couldn’t help but return it, although more subdued, and inclined his head. The boy had sounded very sincere and Atem wanted to believe him. There had been no threats he knew of while Harwa had been their Medjai, but maybe Atem just hasn't been told because they had deemed him too young.  
“I have no doubt. Not anymore.” After all the boy had shown his true skill very quickly indeed. “How did you do it?” He was still curious and after all maybe was able to learn something from the other.  
“Oh just using your speed against you, really.” The Medjai shrugged casually. “It's also a handy skill to use against people taller or stronger than yourself. I dodged your attack, kicked your legs out under you and jumped you to hold the knife against your throat... Forgive me. I got a bit carried away doing that…” The Medjai looked kind of embarrassed, biting his lip, while sending an apologetic smile in Atem’s direction. Atem only shook his head in turn. He didn’t know if it was the heat of the day or his exhaustion after the training, but he zoned out a lot today, right now being weirdly intrigued by the blue specs in the violet eyes of the other boy. Violet just as the tips of the other's hair glowed in the rays of the Aten. His hair was, Atem noticed, oddly similar to the way his own grew, even though the Medjai's hair looked to be a bit shorter, a bit silkier and less stubborn than Atem's thick mane he called hair. Apart from that and their height they couldn't be more different from each other, though. While Atem's skin was bronzed and dark, the boy's skin was fair and only light-brown. His eyes were differently shaped and colored, violet while Atem's were red. Both colors stood out strongly against the kohl both of them had drawn around their eyes, Atem's a bit more skillfully than the Medjai's.

“What’s your name?” Really. He should stop just spitting out whatever randomly came into his head. At least he hadn’t said anything embarrassing like about the boy’s appearance. Right now the Medjai was clad in a simple tunic, brown pants and shoes made of soft leather, probably moulding itself to every movement of the foot making the boy able to climb whatever he set his eyes on. Still, his arms should have lacked the strength for any of that, looking well muscled but quite thin overall. Maybe the Medjai's slim build was the reason he was able to climb something at all. He didn't look as if he weighed a lot... With his headscarf and cloak gone his petite physique was even more obvious. Atem's eyes were drawn in a bit longer than necessary by the armguard the boy wore on his right wrist. It looked a bit different than the one on his left and was made out of brass instead of leather, sparkling dimly in the rays of Aten's greatness. A dark red piece of fabric was wound around the boy's midsection, held in place by a belt that was wound twice around his slim hips, prominently displaying the sign of the King's Medjai: the eye of Horus engraved into a golden badge. Harwa had left it in the palace when he had left to look for his successor and it had probably been given to the boy from Aknamkanon during their private talk Atem hadn't been allowed to stay for. The Medjai still blinked surprised, before visibly relaxing.  
“Yugi. I think we should be around the same age? I’m sixteen.”  
“I'm also sixteen. And my name is Atem.” Which the boy had heard before, but still Atem repeated it anyway. It was their first real introduction after all. “Yugi doesn’t sound very Egyptian…?”  
_Way to go, Atem_ , he congratulated himself mentally. Now he kind of begun to unterstand why Shimon always lamented him being ‘too direct’ and ‘not very diplomatic’. As a Pharaoh shouldn't be, apparently. Well, maybe one day Atem would master it… But today apparently wasn’t that day. Today seemed to be the day he tried to embarrass himself in front of the Medjai as often as possible. What did he do to anger the gods to let him suffer so greatly?  
“Oh, it is not. As I’m… my ancestry is not Egyptian, my family was part of a caravan that came from the far east, as did my mentor's parents a long time ago. He named me.” The backstory sounded intriguing, but Atem didn’t want to pry any more than he already had. He did hope, though, that soon he'd be able to hear more about it.  
“It’s a nice name,” he said and actually meant it. Yugi. The way the boy had pronounced it had sounded a bit foreign. Atem wasn’t sure if he would make a good job at copying it.  
“So is yours, named after the first God of them all. - Still I shall refrain from calling you your given name, Son of King.” Which was probably something to be expected. Being close to the family or not, even Harwa had never called Atem by his given name. Still, he had kind of hoped that this Medjai, Yugi, could made an exception. They were close in age after all and Atem’s hopes on making a new friend still soared high. Of course there were Mahad and Mana, who Atem knew since childhood, and Seto, his cousin, who was his friend and a royal pain sometimes, but it wasn't easy to make new friends here. Especially with people who had left the court for more than a quick hunt or some sort of errand. Atem soaked up everything his friends told him, when they left from time to time. He himself wasn't granted this luck very often after all. Mostly he went on hunts, accompanied by warriors for protection, making it hard to truly concentrate on the task at hand or to explore a bit more. He'd never seen much of Egypt, the land he was meant to rule one day. How was he supposed do to that without leaving the palace more often, walking among the people his father ruled?  
Only now Atem noticed that he had zoned out yet again and Yugi looked as if he was meant to go, leave him to his thoughts. "I should...," the young Medjai started to say, only to be interrupted by Atem's almost desperate: "Can you show me?" The Medjai - Yugi - blinked several times, clearly not understanding what Atem was referring to. "What you did. Your skill. How you could use your enemies' speed against him. I'd like to broaden my own skills in combat." Something, and Atem wasn't sure what it was, lit up in the other's eyes at his words, a small smile tugging at Yugi's lips.  
"Great speed is needed for that, but I'll make sure to teach you other tricks, Son of King." Yugi threw a look over his shoulder before looking back at him, a sheepish expression on his face. "Though I'll have to take my leave now, since I was meant to meet Pharaoh's head of the guard a few moments ago to learn everything about the strengths and weaknesses of the palace." So apparently Yugi had made a detour to apologize to him. Atem couldn't help but smile slightly at this. He nodded, gesturing with his hand towards where Yugi had glanced at.  
"Of course. Maybe tomorrow?" He hoped it would be possible. Yugi nodded at that, sending him a quick smile before slightly wincing at the "MEDJAI? WHERE ARE YOU?!," being hollered too close-by for comfort. Only for a few heartbeats Atem had looked in the general direction of the shout and when he looked back at the place where Yugi had stood only seconds ago... he was gone.

The boy was truly intriguing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Medjai or Medjay actually described the priesthood of the Nubians, who where hired as mercenaries and were something like a police. The Medjai of my story - Yugi - won’t be of Nubian ancestry though, but of Japanese. Which is one of the liberations I took because it felt kind of wrong to change Yugi’s heritage. My head canon is that Yugi’s family were Japanese merchants, using the Silk Road, which actually did lead to Egypt at one point and was also connected to Japan (Nara was the last stop). Although as far as my knowledge goes the Japanese didn't travel it a lot, but received goods. (For example there were apparently fragments of Islamic ceramics found in Nara.) But let's say Yugi's parents were quite adventurous merchants. ;) According to wikipedia silk that has been found in Egypt dates back to 1070 B.C., which is about the time Atem lived according to the original story, which I'll cling to (3000 B.C. in the dub). It's not proven if the silk was actually Chinese or wild silk from the Middle East or the Mediterranean region, but for the sake of the story I just assume it was Chinese.  
> You’ll hear more about Yugi's background story as the story progresses.
> 
> I'm not sure when the next update will be coming, please be patient with me. :)
> 
> Oh and this fic is probably self-indulgent af so it might be just a collection of roughly strung together chapters. We'll see. :)


End file.
